Freckleface Strawberry, The Musical

Taking a kids’ storybook that is about 15 pages long and turning it into an hour long musical stage show sounds rather difficult. To be honest, after reading Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne Moore with my kids, I was very unsure of how the show really would pan out. Last week, my daughter and I went into the city and attended a matinee performance at New World Stages and I have to say that we thoroughly enjoyed it!

Freckleface Strawberry is the story of Strawberry, a 7 year old girl with red hair and freckles that she absolutely hates. And she’s the only one in her family with freckles, which, in her mind, makes it worse! When her friends at school start calling her “Freckleface Strawberry”, that’s the last straw. She tries everything that she can to rid herself of the awful freckles from washing to scrubbing, and when that doesn’t work, she decides to disguise herself. In the end, she learns that her freckles don’t make her the person that she is and that what counts is on the inside.

Twenty songs performed by the highly talented cast explore all of the musical genres, from acapella to beatbox, and the dancing is extremely entertaining for all ages. Small references in the dialogue and music to pop culture icons such as Lady Gaga and High School Musical make it very relateable and for kids of all ages. The message of the show – to both kids and adults – is to be comfortable with who you are, and it is a very valuable one, especially now when we are seeing the ramifications of bullying and teasing within our society.

If you’re looking for something to do over the upcoming holidays, it’s worth the trip into the city to see Freckleface Strawberry at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, NYC). It’s a great show for kids of all ages, both boys and girls, and adults will enjoy it as well.

If you’re taking the train, New World Stages is super accessible. Take the LIRR into Penn Station and then take the 8th Avenue subway line right from Penn Station to 50th Street, which is 1/2 block from the theater.

After the performance, we waited for about 15 minutes and Freckleface Strawberry herself, Hayley Podschun, came out and was so sweet, signed my daughter’s Playbill and took a picture with us.